Thermionic emission of zirconium nitrides after cesium ion bombardment

The stability of ZrN emitters has been studied after cesium ions bombardment. It is shown that thermoemission parameters are stable for more than 5000 hours of exploitation of the emitter and are independent of the contact with air. It is found that high emission ability of such emitters cannot be attributed to the ZrN-Cs thin film formation. The implantation of cesium ions into ZrN metal sublattice in a thin surface layer of the emitter is more probable for this case